Update from Trenton, NJ: S4843/A6235 electric bike bill on Monday 1/12, passed both houses, and in the process, lawmakers stripped out the only provision that actually helped cyclists.

Section 4 is gone. The one good part of the bill. The provision that would have allowed bicyclists to qualify for PIP, personal injury protection, for people who don’t have car insurance. The safety net for those who chose not to drive.

The Legislature removed language that would have classified operators of bikes as pedestrians entitled to PIP coverage in cases of injury or death. As amended, “pedestrian” is now narrowly defined, excluding anyone occupying a vehicle propelled by anything other than muscular power, while awkwardly carving out bicycles and low-speed e-bikes in theory, but not in practice.

Then came another amendment, protecting the Jersey Shore small business man. Rental companies for some reason were heard and considered, because we have to protect the bike-as-park-industrial-complex. The bill now clarifies that riders renting low-speed electric bicycles from companies operating under local government contracts do NOT need a driver’s license or permit, as long as the rider is 16 or older.

A brief recap:

Cyclists injured by cars? No guaranteed PIP.
Corporate rental operators? Explicitly protected.

Which raises the obvious question:

Do we actually have bike advocates in New Jersey, or do we just have lobbyists for wealthy men dabbling in the elite capture of cycling and urbanism?

Because this didn’t happen by (crash not) accident.

I’m still confused at what Tri-States point is in New Jersey, because all they seem to do is sabotage all progress in New Jersey to help New York, now they are hiring for that damn park.

This is what happens when mopeds get relabeled as “Class 3 bikes” to broaden a market. When national bike lobbies like PeopleForBikes conflate speed, weight, and power, and local advocates never challenge them, because you want to speak at their little event.

This is what happens when accessibility for for commuting cyclists is negotiable, but business models are not.

This bill didn’t end up here because of confusion. It ended up here because of power.

Now it heads to the Goldman Sachs's desk, sorry I mean the governor’s desk, Governor Phil Murphy.